Best Restaurants with a Fireplace in Kensington

A consistent stop when we’re in DC, La Chaumiere never fails to please. We dined there two nights in a row since the quality and variety are virtually unmatched in the city. Our waiter Tony was extremely knowledgeable and unfailing gracious as was the entire staff. Watching the choreography of this experienced and expert staff on a busy night brought back memories of how service once was provided in fine restaurants. The food…always excellent. We ate our fill of soufflés and splurged on caviar and champaign in honor of our anniversary. You can’t go wrong with any choice. The prices..very fair for the quality you receive. Thank you for two wonderful nights of memories.

We went to tabard inn to celebrate our elopement earlier that day, and we were greeted with such warmth and excitement! The food was amazing; the cocktails were refreshing and thoughtfully crafted and we had an amazing time. The ambience was incredibly warm and cozy and we were even gifted some Prosecco and sweets as a congratulations!

A fantastic experience from start to finish. We’ve been big fans of Kevin Tien since the Himitsu days and this was just as amazing as we remembered. Every dish, dessert and cocktail we tried was an explosion of flavors and textures. Standouts included the cocktail with shrimp salt, cumin lamb, crab gnocchi and tofu cheesecake. The space was beautiful and service was just right for our date night. Looking forward to returning!

Food was good not great, service was very good, but it was very noisy in the indoor part of the restaurant. And there was also music playing which made it hard to hear other people at our own table of 4. If you wear hearing aids communication would be close to a lost cause.

Friends wanted to get together and left the venue to me. I suggested MATCHBOX as it was easy to get to and plenty of FREE parking available. I hadn't been to MATCHBOX in years and it was a venue other friends and I would meet up at pre-pandemic. We met up MON afternoon and the place was relatively quiet. I had been to the restaurant after work/happy hour and it would be packed to the gills! It was a pleasant venue for a light lunch and my friends had never been to the restaurant. A surprise for my friends who were experiencing MATCHBOX for the first time was being given a complimentary cheesy bread -- sort of like a thin white pizza with just enough garlic and side of red sauce for dipping. Our waiter was quick to take our order and food did not take long to be served. Honestly, I was very tired after having worked a morning shift (up at 3am to report to work at 5am) so having their Cream of Crab Soup and Simple Salad was enough for me since I planned to go home and "crash" for the rest of the day. My friends enjoyed their meals but what was nice was afterwards, we hung out in the restaurant continuing with our conversation catching up with each other. The staff never tried to "hurry us out" and the whole atmosphere of a quiet restaurant was conducive to our being able to converse without having to rush out of the restaurant. My friends were amazed at how big the place was (their first time being at the restaurant) and were glad of the choice of venue for meeting up. Also, when it came time to pony up on the bill, my friends said it was their treat as a belated birthday gift. Gotta love friends! Thank you MATCHBOX for providing a welcoming venue for 3 friends with an unhurried atmosphere to be able to hangout".